Maternity-skirt.



G. BAER.

MATERNITY SKIRT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26, 1915.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

THE COLUMBIA PLArgoGRAPH C0.. WASHINGTON, u. c.

nn'rrnn srarns rarnrvr onirica.

Gosrav nenn, or new Yorin, n. Y.

MATERNITY-SKIRT.

Application led .Tune 26, 1915.V

To all lwhom 'it may concern Be it known that l, GUsTAv Bann, a citisaen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the'county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and Useful improvements in Maternity Skirts, of which the following is a specilication. i

My invention relates to dress skirts for women in a pregnant condition, and the main object thereof is to provide a. skirt the style or appearance of which is unaltered during the entire period of pregnancy` despite the gradually enlarged adjustment thereof in the progressive stages .of pregnancy.

ln skirts of this class now known to me it is necessary to alterthe appearance to meet the progressive conditions, either by the gradual enlargement of plaits or by destroying' the location of certain arrangements of the fabric andthus destroying the original balanced effect of the skirt, or for other reasons, and it was in order to overcome this that my invention :as conceived.

My invention is fully described rin the following specification. of which the accompanying drawings form a part..v in which like characters refer to like parts in each of the views, and in which Figure 1 is `a front view of one style of skirt made in acc rdance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof; Fig. 3 is a perspective view. of the upper portion of the skirt, in position as worn; Fig. 4; is a similar view'in open position; Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

ln the drawings forming a part of this application I have'shown one type of skirt consisting of two membersy 7 and 8, the former of which is the skirt proper -and the latter the belt therefor, each forming` a part of the skirt as an entirety. The member 7 is shown as provided with front and rear exterior panels 9 and 10, respectively, arranged centrally `of the body of the wearer and draped to meet the required fullness at the lower edge l1 of the member 7; when the skirt is made with these panels thus centrally arranged, it is desirable to maintain the saine in these positions, and of the same widths, during the development of the pregnant state, in order to not alter the original appearance of the skirt; although these Specticaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. l5, i916.

Serial No. 36,563.

vanels are shown as centrallv arranged I folded longitudinally to form two depend-l ent portions 12 and 13, the former of which is provided with tapes 14 at its ends, and with one member 15 of each of a plurality of fasteners arranged on-each side of the center of the length of said portion l2, live being shown in each group in Fig. 4:, but the number of which may be varied as desired. The portion 13 is intended to be worn in full view and may be made of any desired design, beingl shown as with rounded ends 1G, buttons 17 adjacent to said ends, and buttonholes 18 at the rear thereof, one being shown on each side of the center of the length thereof, to receive the respective ones of two buttons 19 carried by the skirt member 7 at the upper end of the panel l0. rlChe panel 9 is secured to the body of the skirt niember 7 at one of its edges, the other edge being free to form a placket and being provided with one member 20 of each of a plurality of fastening devices adapted to with the other respective member 21 of the fasteners secured to the skirt member at the edge of the placket. It will be seen that this panel 9 does not vary in its appearance under any conditions, nor does the panel 10, as will now be shown. The back panel 10 is formed by folding the fabric inwardly to form a fold 22, the fabric being stitched together as shown at Q3 in Fig. 5 to insure permanency of the panel 10, said fold 22 being provided at each side of the central line of the skirt and being extended inwardly to approximately the center line of the skirt and the fabric is again folded outwardly on lines 24; the stitching 9.3 holds the panel portions of the fabric in panel formation, as does also the stitches or threads used in sewing on the buttons 19.

The inner side of the waist band 25 is provided with a plurality of complemental members 26 of the fasteners the other members l5 of which are carried by the belt member 8, these fastener members 26 being arranged on each side of the center line of the skirt and being spaced, in each group, to conform to the spacing of the members 15, but more members 26 are provided than of the members 15 of the fasteners; these fas- `now at its minimum length.

'teners may be of the glove fastener type hooks and eyes, buttons and button-holes, etc. etc., or any suitable equivalent therefor.

When the skirt is worn by a normal woman the folds 22 are of maximum length, and the fastener members l5 are connected with the respective members 26 for this adjustment ef the length'of the waist-band 25, The skirt mayY nonY be put on and taken off by connecting and disconnecting the free edge of the panel 9 from the body of the skirt, the portion l2 of the belt 8 being arranged inwardly of vthe iaist-band 25 and the tapes 14. tied and untied to connect or disconnect the belt with the body of the wearer, the portion 13 of said belt being arranged eXteriorly of the waist-band 25 to conceal the same, andthe tapes ld being concealed beneath the panel 9. As the development advances, the fastenerl members l5 may be disconnected from the members 26 to which they had been connected, on each side of the central line of the skirt, and again connected with the next successive respective fasteners 26, thus lengthening the waist-band y25 to an extent equaling the distance between the fastener members 26 on each side of the central line of the skirt. This step by step lengthening` of the waistband .may be repeated as occasion requires until the last fastener member 26 is reached on each side of the skirt, but no effect is produced upon either panel nor any effect upon the appearance of the skirt, the only difference being the increase in distance between the respective edges of the two panels, but this is not apparent to the observer. rlfhe belt 8 accommodates itself to this development by reason of the tapes 14, but its i `relationship with the skirt at its points of buttoned connection at the rear of the skirt remains unchanged. A slight change is apparent at the front of the belt by reason of the gradual separation of the ends of the belt, but this is hardly noticeable and, if desired, a new and larger belt may be prop `vided for the extreme conditions without in anyway affecting the skirt.

come within the scope of my invention and Y of the following claim, myV invention consists of a skirt having fixed characteristics of style, a separable belt therefor, and means for adjiustably connecting the skirt with the belt.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and ldesire to'secureby Letters Patent, is

A skirt having its upper edge at the rear folded inwardly and then outwardly on each side of the center line'of the skirt to form a panel, a plurality of fastener membersdisposed horizontally on the inner face of each folded portion, a belt-like member secured to the upper edge of the skirt and depending within the same, the belt-like member being disconnected at the front from the skirt and provided with means for varying its length, and fastener members disposed horizontally on the outer surface of the belt-like member and adapted to mate with the first named fastener members. Y v

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

y GUSTAV BAEL.

Witnesses: o

J. C. LARsEN, PHILIP D. RoLLHAUs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

